There is a first time for everything, including my homemade apple pie

This is the first time I have ever made a homemade apple pie. It is also the first time I remember eating one. 

Not saying that I have been missing out on the awesome thing we call apple pie, but I do not remember having an apple pie that was completely made from scratch. Of course I have posted in my blog prior to this saying that I was going to fix one when I had the time. Seeming as I am just working and spending time with the magazine I have had gobs of time on my hands this past week. I just needed to pick up some cinnamon and nutmeg and I was movin' and a groovin'. I stopped by Target on my way home from a meeting and started the show! I knew it would be time consuming when I started, but it was worth every minute of it! Plus I got to wear my new apron (not the first time I have used it this week either)! 

 So, the recipe was really simple but time consuming. I don't suggest you make this if you are in a time crunch, but most of you reading this know that fact already. 

Two pie-crust recipe: 

 2 cups of all-purpose flour

 1 teaspoon of salt

 2/3 cups of shortening

 5-7 tablespoons of cold water

Apple filling mixture:

 6 cups of peeled and sliced apples

 1 cup of sugar

 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

 (I added 1/4 cup of brown sugar this is optional)

Pastry:

  Spoon flour into measuring cup and level off. Make sure to loosely fill the measuring cup instead of packing full. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender (I don't have one of these so I just used my fingers), add in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. After that sprinkle the flour mixture with water. One tablespoon at a time while mixing lightly with a fork. Keep adding water until dough is just moist enough to hold together. Shape dough into 2 balls for the two-crust pie. Flatten the first ball and roll it on a lightly floured surface. Roll from the center to the edge into a circle that is at least two inches larger than the 9 inch pan. Repeat with the second ball of dough. Place dough in pan, fill with filling and cover top and poke holes in the top to vent. 

Filling:

  In a large bowl combine all filling ingredients and toss lightly. Spoon the apple mixture into a pie-crust lined pan. Top with the second crust and poke holes in several places. Bake at 425 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender. 

OK, here is the lowdown about this recipe and my faults, of course! I had some trouble with the dough. It took me centuries (it seemed) to get the dough rolled out correctly. My top layer of dough didn't stretch across the pie and it was disappointing, but all was well in the end. Rolling out the dough wasn't the funnest part of the recipe and neither was peeling and cutting the apples. To get the six cups of apples I really only needed about four apples. My roommate was actually surprised by how tender the apples turned out just to be cooked for 40 minutes. I am a huge advocate of cutting things into tiny pieces. It always cooks faster and fills up quicker. So it took me a good hour to an hour and a half to get the apples and dough finished. 

 All-in-all I liked the recipe and it tastes even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!